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Medical Marijuana

One of the most egregious outcomes of marijuana prohibition is that many sick people cannot legally access the medicine that works best for them. The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is committed to legalizing marijuana at the state and federal levels and improving medical marijuana programs to better protect patients’ rights and access to medicine.

Current Medical Marijuana Laws in the U.S.

2016 Initiative Results

Election Day was a watershed moment for the movement to end marijuana prohibition — no other reform was approved by so many citizens on so many ballots this year. Legalization initiatives prevailed in four out of five states, and medical marijuana initiatives prevailed in all four states.

But the prospect of Donald Trump as our next president is profoundly troubling. While Trump has repeatedly pledged to respect state marijuana laws, his rhetoric on broader criminal justice issues has been largely unfriendly.

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Why Should We Legalize?

Provide effective medicine
For many seriously ill people, medical marijuana is the only medicine that relieves their pain and suffering, or treats symptoms of their medical condition, without debilitating side effects.

Marijuana has been shown to alleviate symptoms of a huge variety of serious medical conditions including cancer, AIDS, and glaucoma, and is often an effective alternative to synthetic painkillers.

Advance research
Marijuana prohibition has thwarted research within the United States to uncover the best and most effective uses for marijuana as a medicine. Legalization would allow research into marijuana’s medical benefits to move forward.

Advocates Applaud Ongoing Action by Department of Health to Improving New York’s Medical Marijuana Program

NEW YORK—Today, the New York State Department of Health announced that they will expand New York’s beleaguered medical marijuana program by adding chronic pain as a qualifying condition under New York’s Compassionate Care Law. This decision by the Department of Health is a victory for patient advocates and for all New Yorkers who suffer from debilitating pain, which medical marijuana has been proven to help treat.

This Election Day was a watershed moment for the movement to end marijuana prohibition, with the results expected to accelerate efforts to legalize marijuana in states across the U.S., at the federal level, and internationally. Overall, legalization initiatives prevailed in four out of five states, and medical marijuana initiatives prevailed in all four states this year.

2016 Election Shaping Up as Watershed Moment for Movement to End Marijuana Prohibition

North Dakota voters have approved Measure 5, which legalizes the medical use of marijuana for conditions such as cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, glaucoma, and epilepsy, and other debilitating medical conditions.

Patients will be permitted to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana. The initiative instructs the Department of Health to issue ID-cards for qualified patients and regulate non-profit compassion centers which will serve as dispensaries for patients. Individuals living more than 40 miles from a dispensary will be permitted to grow up to eight plants in their home.

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2016 Election Shaping Up as Watershed Moment for Movement to End Marijuana Prohibition

Florida voters have approved the state’s medical marijuana initiative, Amendment 2. This victory makes Florida, with its huge population and bellwether status in American politics, the first state in the South to adopt a medical marijuana law.

SANTA FE, New Mexico — Today pain specialists, people recovering from addiction, community members, and drug policy reformers joined together to call for the inclusion of medical cannabis in New Mexico’s response to heroin and opioids. State lawmakers Representative Debbie Armstrong and Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino also submitted letters supporting the call.

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California, Arizona, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts to Vote on Legalizing Marijuana, While Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana Vote on Medical Marijuana

Election Shaping Up as Watershed Moment for Movement to End Federal Prohibition

This Election Day is shaping up to be a watershed moment for efforts to end marijuana prohibition, with five states voting on marijuana legalization and four more on medical marijuana. The results are expected to have major ramifications for marijuana law reform in states across the U.S., at the federal level, and even internationally.

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New Report Finds Massive Drop in Marijuana Arrests, No Increase in Youth Marijuana Use, No Increase in Traffic Fatalities, and Major Fiscal Benefits in States With Legalized Marijuana

Tens of Thousands of People Spared from Harmful Marijuana Arrests and Collateral Consequences; $552 Million in Tax Revenue Raised in Colorado, Washington and Oregon

As Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada prepare to vote on marijuana legalization next month, all eyes are on the initial outcomes of those states that have already legalized marijuana. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first two U.S. states – and the first two jurisdictions in the world – to approve ending marijuana prohibition and legally regulating marijuana production, distribution and sales. In the 2014 election, Alaska and Oregon followed suit, while Washington D.C.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first two U.S. states – and the first two jurisdictions in the world – to approve ending marijuana prohibition and legally regulating marijuana production, distribution and sales. In the 2014 election, Alaska and Oregon followed suit, while Washington D.C. passed a more limited measure that legalized possession and home cultivation of marijuana (but did not address its taxation and sale due to D.C. law).

NEW YORK—Today, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his office will sign off on all 12 recommendations made by the Department of Health in its recent two-year report evaluating the rollout and current status of New York’s medical marijuana program.

Drug Policy Alliance: Next Administration Must End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Today, the DEA announced that it was not rescheduling marijuana, in effect refusing to recognize marijuana's medicinal benefits. But in what is viewed as a victory for the marijuana reform movement, the DEA said that it was ending its monopoly on marijuana research.